Blankets

Grumbles and sighs of exasperation were heard coming from the group of third-grade boys huddled around the square piece of pirate-printed fleece. Comments such as "I can't do this" and "This is hard" punctuated the boys' struggles to tie knots in the fabric's fringes. "I'm getting an awful lot of 'can'ts' from you boys," said Kerry Wolf, a parent volunteer at the table. "I think you can. It's like tying a balloon. We're having a water balloon battle and don't even know it. " The boys, along with their fellow students at Runnymede Elementary School, were taking part in the school's fourth annual Project Linus project Dec. 19. A nonprofit organization founded in 1998, Project Linus provides blankets for security, warmth and comfort to children who are ill, traumatized or in need, according to Connie Richman, coordinator for Project Linus in Carroll County.

A minimum security inmate escaped from Dorsey Run Correctional Facility in Jessup early Monday and was captured hours later in the home of an acquaintance. According to the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, Larence Godfrey escaped at about 4:50 a.m. by scaling a perimeter fence. Officials said he covered razor wire atop the fence with blankets. He was captured around 8 p.m. Facility staff noticed the blankets covering the razor wire at approximately 6:15 a.m., and initiated an inmate count.

Employees of the Westminster branch of Morgan Stanley donated 15 handmade fleece blankets to Carroll Hospital Center last month as a gesture designed to brighten the spirits of children in the hospital's care over the holidays. The blankets were made by staff members of two departments at Morgan Stanley - the Velnoskey Group and the DeRenzis Ford Group. Douglas Velnoskey, a senior vice president at Morgan Stanley in Westminster, and Coleen Kramer Beal, registered associate of the Velnoskey Group division at the company, made the presentation.

Rob Williams returned to his Rodgers Forge townhouse very early Thursday morning and said it was the last time, at least for that week, that he and neighbor John Falconer would face the midnight chill to distribute blankets and food to the men and women sleeping on Towson's streets. Their nightly missions during the coldest stretch in years were proving successful, but tiring. "We don't want to exhaust ourselves early in the winter," Williams said. Yet coming from a man who says if he doesn't go to bed exhausted then he hasn't given enough of himself in a given day - and whose hastily planned outreach became cause célèbre in his Towson community - it's hard to blame him for not keeping his word.

By Pat Brodowski and Pat Brodowski,SPECIAL TO THE SUN | March 13, 2002

MOST PEOPLE recognize Linus, the comic strip character who keeps his security blanket at hand. What they might not know is that Linus has become a symbol for a national volunteer organization that makes and gives security blankets. Project Linus enlists the volunteer efforts of people who enjoy stitching, crocheting and knitting. Their creations are given to children coping with difficult situations. Judy Walter, family and consumer science teacher at North Carroll High School, began a chapter of Project Linus for Carroll County - one of nine chapters in Maryland and more than 300 in the United States.

By CASSANDRA A. FORTIN and CASSANDRA A. FORTIN,SPECIAL TO THE SUN | November 13, 2005

Almost every evening after dinner, Jean Matson settles into a recliner, pulls yarn and a needle out of her sewing basket and crochets until bedtime. The 71-year-old Forest Hill resident learned the craft as a child and spent years making blankets and afghans for family and friends. Eventually, Matson ran out of people to give them to, so she began making items for her home. Soon the house was awash in rugs, throws and afghans. "I literally had pieces all over the house," Matson said. "I couldn't put more in here if I wanted to."

By Pat Brodowski and Pat Brodowski,SPECIAL TO THE SUN | December 6, 2000

BECAUSE THE BOY Scouts of Troop 9 sleep outdoors in all sorts of weather, they know the discomfort of being cold at night. The Scouts also know how to do a good turn. Last winter, the troop collected blankets for distribution by Shepherd's Staff of Westminster. About 50 blankets were collected, cleaned and donated. The troop numbers about 12 boys this year. Again, they are collecting usable blankets for those without them. The Scouts are also collecting disposable diapers of all sizes.

WASHINGTON -- Just in time for Christmas, the U.S. Department of Defense has reinstated its program providing blankets for the homeless."It got the green light," Frank Johnson, director of corporate communications at Philadelphia's Defense Supply Center, said yesterday.The news of the decision was greeted with relief by advocates for the homeless, who were facing this winter without the homely but extremely durable blankets they had come to count on."If you have them, you give them out," said Mary Hendrickson, executive director of the Homeless Coalition in Fayetteville, N.C.She, like other advocates, had been forced to seek alternative sources for blankets since the free supply of military blankets was cut off.During the program's first decade, more than 4 million blankets were distributed to more than 500 homeless shelters around the country.

Organizers are disappointed with the results of a campaign to gatherbasic necessities like shampoo, diapers and toilet paper for the homeless, as the month-long drive nears its end.Contributions at sites throughout the state have dropped off drastically from last year, said Peggy Vick, county organizer of Boxes for Blankets, sponsored bythe non-profit Action for the Homeless.At the end of last February, Boxes for Blankets had collected some 500 boxes -- more than two and a half tons -- of diapers, toiletries, blankets and linens, and sent them to more than 70 shelters aroundthe state.

Temperatures could dip below zero for the first time since 1996 early Saturday as the fresh blanket of snow and calming winds chill the region overnight, according to the National Weather Service. Forecasters are calling for a low of 1 degree below zero, which would break a record low of 4 degrees on Saturday's date, set in 1918. The last time the mercury fell below zero at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport was Feb. 5, 1996, with a low of 1 degree below zero.

Jim Cantore came to Baltimore looking for heavy snow, but all he got was some slush - plus a hot dog and a couple of six-packs of beer. The Weather Channel personality follows extreme weather across the country, but the weather was less severe than expected when he reported live from Pratt Street on Tuesday. So he took up some employees of downtown advertising firm Planit on an offer for some beer, and a chef from the Yard Bar and Grille brought him the restaurant's signature Yard Dog. A system that was forecast to bring a punch of fast-accumulating snow to the region underperformed after predicted bands of intense precipitation failed to materialize.

A fresh blanket of snow fell across the Baltimore area west of Interstate 95 by midday Tuesday, but heavier bands of precipitation that were expected to raise snowfall totals did not materialize. As much as 6 inches fell, reported in Manchester in northern Carroll County, with totals of 2-3 inches more common across northern Baltimore County and Harford County and 1-2 inches in Howard County. Conditions were mostly slushy, with some new snow accumulation on grass and vehicles, in and around Baltimore City.

From now until Christmas Eve, visitors to the Maryland Science Center's "Mummies of the World" exhibit can receive discounted admission by participating in "Wrap a Family in Warmth," the Salvation's Army's coat and blanket drive. Guests who bring a new or gently used coat, sweater or blanket to the Maryland Science Center will receive a $3 discount on admission to the world's largest exhibition of human and animal mummies and related artifacts,...

Paul Edward Kennedy Mullan, a photographer who made headlines as a foundling discovered in a Towson apartment vestibule, died of a brain tumor Feb. 27 at his parents' North Baltimore home. He was 34. The story of his first days filled news columns in January 1979. The Sun reported he was discovered near the vestibule mailboxes of a Towson garden apartment near Towson University. Days old, he was wrapped in a plaid blanket and dressed in a J.C. Penney shirt and a diaper held together with Scotch tape.

STEVENSVILLE -- Two babies who died at the home of a Kent Island day care provider last month apparently were accidentally suffocated by blankets when they were put down for a nap, authorities have told the children's families.After ruling out tainted food and other possible causes, investigators appear to have settled on a simple explanation, one that contributes to the deaths of up to 1,800 infants a year in the United States: putting babies to sleep with soft, fluffy bedding.In the case of the two Maryland infants, it was probably a handmade quilt, said Dawn Denny, the mother of Ian Walden Denny of Stevensville.

WASHINGTON -- Winter comes this year without one of its smaller mercies.After a decade during which the U.S. Department of Defense distributed 4 million of its unlovely but warm blankets to homeless programs around the country, the money for any more is gone and the supply has run out. At hundreds of shelters, the loss is being felt."

Employees of the Westminster branch of Morgan Stanley donated 15 handmade fleece blankets to Carroll Hospital Center last month as a gesture designed to brighten the spirits of children in the hospital's care over the holidays. The blankets were made by staff members of two departments at Morgan Stanley - the Velnoskey Group and the DeRenzis Ford Group. Douglas Velnoskey, a senior vice president at Morgan Stanley in Westminster, and Coleen Kramer Beal, registered associate of the Velnoskey Group division at the company, made the presentation.

Grumbles and sighs of exasperation were heard coming from the group of third-grade boys huddled around the square piece of pirate-printed fleece. Comments such as "I can't do this" and "This is hard" punctuated the boys' struggles to tie knots in the fabric's fringes. "I'm getting an awful lot of 'can'ts' from you boys," said Kerry Wolf, a parent volunteer at the table. "I think you can. It's like tying a balloon. We're having a water balloon battle and don't even know it. " The boys, along with their fellow students at Runnymede Elementary School, were taking part in the school's fourth annual Project Linus project Dec. 19. A nonprofit organization founded in 1998, Project Linus provides blankets for security, warmth and comfort to children who are ill, traumatized or in need, according to Connie Richman, coordinator for Project Linus in Carroll County.